To Slay God

[

"Aisha…" Lorian pouted, poking at the girl's cheek, buried into her chest comfortably, her eyes half-lidded in comfortable bliss. "Heeyyyy."

"...Yes, mistress?" Aisha replied shyly.

"Do you love me for more than just my body?" The large girl asked, squishing Aisha's face in her hands, turning it to face her own.

.

"Yes, of course!" Aisha exclaimed. "Of course I-I… I do. I… I… I love you."

"Mmm…" Lorian mused, puffing out her cheeks. "Then I want to talk about stuff!"

"Huh?" Aisha blushed, confused. "T-talk? About… about what?"

"Like, regular lover stuff!" Lorian whined, missing the way Aisha's face went volcanic red. "Like… your favorite food! Your favorite things!"

"My favorite thing is you." Aisha whispered.

.

"AH!" Lorian cried. "That! That- cute stuff! It's that!"

"It's true!" Aisha protested. "Besides… why would you want to talk about that stuff anyways?"

"I just feel like this is all we do!" Lorian whined. "We just cuddle, and then whenever we talk, it's just… just fluff! We just talk about how much we love each other, and how good we feel, a-and…"

.

Lorian brimmed with embarrassment.

"U-uh. Anyways." She continued, stumbling over her words. "I want… I wanna just talk to you."

"What's wrong with cuddle-talk?" Aisha pouted, squeezing herself deeper into Lorian's body, rubbing Lorian's back with her small hands.

"There's nothing wrong with cuddle-talk." Lorian mumbled, blushing. "But I wanna get to know the real Aisha. Not just… not just my little cuddle-kitten. I'm tired of you saying that your favorite things are always me!"

.

Aisha frowned, her ears drooping flat on top of her head. Cuddle-Aisha was the real Aisha. Deep down… deep down, Aisha really did love her mistress above all things. Deep down, Aisha's greatest desire… was just to spend time with her mistress.

.

"Um. Okay." She answered, though, because she was a coward. "W-what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know…" Lorian mused. "How about… how was your day?"

"It was good." Aisha smiled dreamily.

"Um, why's that?"

"I got to spend the entire day with…" Aisha's face sank. "Um."

"Okay, that's…" Lorian blushed. "I-I guess that isn't… isn't a good question."

.

Lorian pulled the covers further up on both of them, ears heating up in embarrassed revelation. Oh gosh, they had really just spent the entire day in bed, just cuddling… Her face burned, just thinking about it. But it was so hard to do anything else, she just wanted to hug Aisha forever…

.

Lorian cleared her throat. "Okay, um. How about… boys? Do you like boys?"

"No." Aisha answered instantly. Should have been pretty obvious, in retrospect.

Lorian huffed. "T-then… then, what kind of girls do you like?"

"I like big, tall girls, who have nice bodies, and big boobs, and have really nice skin, and are just soft enough to sink into when you hug them, and give me headpats, and tell me that they love me, and are- Aaaaaaaah!"

.

Aisha whined as Lorian pulled at her cheeks, her own cheeks going scarlet red as the little girl's arms flailed around, slapping weakly at Lorian's much larger hands.

.

"D-dont be silly!" Lorian chided in embarrassment. "Answer me seriously!"

"I am serious." Aisha said resolutely.

"There's no way I'm exactly your type." Lorian said, puffing out her cheeks cutely in frustration. "There really isn't anything you would change about me?"

.

Aisha grinned, leaping on top of her mistress and snuggling deeply into her breasts, enveloping her face in the squishy, soft, perfectly shapen globes, the perfect pillow. Aisha loved being on top of her mistress. Almost as much as she loved hugging her from the side. What she loved by far the most was when mistress was on top, smothering her, crushing her with all of her weight…

.

Er.

"No!" She giggled, purring and snuggling deeper into the pillows. "You're perfect, mistress. I wouldn't change a single inch of you."

"But what if I change?" Lorian asked worriedly, lightly petting Aisha. "Do you want me to stay like this forever?"

.

"No." Aisha pursed her lips. "I just… I don't care about those things anymore. All that I care about is… that it's you."

.

Lorian blushed, looking down at her chest, but accidentally met Aisha's earnest, loving gaze, and flushed harder with embarrassment. She knew an answer like that was coming, but…

.

"Oh…" Lorian mumbled, her voice cracking in pure emotional overload. "I… I love you too."

"Hee hee." Aisha grinned wide. "Yay!"

.

Lorian just squeezed Aisha harder, if that was even possible - an ant couldn't fit between their slightly-sweaty bodies, flushed skin pressed up against flushed skin. It was like they were one being, one lazy pile of cuddles, one adorable little pile of fluff.

.

Being around Aisha was like being charmed, except much, much stronger. Lorian's incredible natural resistance to magic made spells much weaker on her, but all that served to do was to make Aisha's natural… irresistibleness seem so much more… potent. The worst she had ever gotten from an arcane charm was from a particularly powerful succubus, and it had, at best, made her flushed enough to kiss the demon a single time.

.

Aisha had milked thousands of kisses out of her. Maybe millions. And more than that. She was hopelessly addicted.

.

Those were the thoughts that dominated Lorian's mind, as she leaned in for another addicting, loving kiss…

]

.

.

.

Aisha furrowed her brows as she extended a hand, feeling the mana rush through her veins as she took a deep breath, feeling how the flow accelerated. Tensing her hand, and concentrating intensely, she felt the flow change, becoming fiery in her veins. With another thought, it became icy cold. With another, the flow became calm again. And with another, it accelerated.

.

(Wow, a dual affinity.) Her shadow whistled, in her mindspace. (You're quite talented, aren't you?)

.

"Remember what he said, though?"

.

(You're talking about… the guy in your head?)

.

Aisha nodded, visions of an icy-cold stare piercing through her mind. She could still remember it well, the way his eyes reflected the light, not an ounce of emotion, even as his sword thrust through Aisha's chest-

.

She shook her head violently, feeling her heartbeat accelerate. She didn't like thinking about the training, the dying, the lurching, sinking feeling in her stomach whenever a hole was bored into her head, or the coldness in her veins as her chest was pierced…

.

Aisha shook her head again, but nothing could get that feeling out of her head. That suffocating feeling, the weakness in her body, it felt like she was drowning, but despite how many gasps of air she took in, her limbs grew colder and colder, weaker and weaker. She clutched her heart, just to make sure that it was still beating, and for a second, her eyes opened in panic, not feeling anything-

.

And then the heartbeat came, and in a cold sweat, Aisha collapsed onto the grass, arms clutched around her legs, eyes close to watering.

.

"Think about hugs." Aisha whimpered. "A-about mistress. About… about spending a life with her. Just think about her. Just-"

.

"What's up with you?" A lazy voice asked, and Aisha quickly shut her eyes, squeezing them shut and grimacing.

.

"Nothing." She replied in a low mumble.

"Doesn't seem like nothing." Feng taunted. Or maybe she was speaking in earnest. Aisha didn't know.

.

"Just leave me alone!" Aisha croaked. "You and your brother. Can't I just live my life in peace?"

"You've gotten far too involved in things to quit now." Feng smirked. "Once you're in the game, you're in forever. You've killed many people. You've made a name for yourself. People aren't going to just leave you alone."

"You sound like that whore." Aisha lamented.

.

"What."

"Nothing."

"..."

.

Feng just looked at Aisha strangely, her eyebrows furrowed, before just rolling her eyes. For a while, Feng sat next to her in a bit of silence, but suddenly, her expression went softer, although Aisha didn't see it, too busy looking at the dirt.

"Were you thinking of my brother?" Feng asked, in an unusually gentle tone. Aisha stirred, although she didn't raise her head, preferring to mumble into her knees.

.

"Yes."

"...What was he like?"

"...He was…"

.

[

Aisha gasped and panted on the floor, barely able to keep herself upright, as she lost strength in her arms and legs. Blood gushed from countless cuts and gashes on her body, and she could barely even see, her hair matted together by sweat and dried blood.

.

It hurt. Aisha hadn't hurt in so long, but the training hurt. It was torture. Pushed to the brink of exhaustion, then the brink of death, and then he would heal her, pushing her to the brink of insanity. The only thing that kept her going was mistress. She pushed through it for mistress. If she didn't know that mistress would be waiting for her when she got back, she would have just laid there dead.

.

"Get up." A faint voice whispered, barely visible over the ringing and pounding in her ears. One of them was sliced clean off, and the wound throbbed, a stinging, biting sensation that made Aisha's eyes water.

.

"You asked me to stop reviving you." The voice said. "This is what you wanted."

.

Aisha slowly rose, her body screaming at her to just lay down and die. It shouldn't have even been possible for her to move. Her tendons were cut. Her bones were shattered. But she rose anyway.

.

And promptly collapsed again, this time, unmoving.

.

"Heal her." The voice demanded.

.

"You can't keep doing this to her!" A second voice shouted. "You're a monster!"

"This is what she has agreed to. Heal her."

"I won't! Not if you're just going to keep beating her to death! I-"

.

.

.

When Aisha regained consciousness, she didn't feel the lingering warmth of the little priest girl's healing magic on her. There was only a slight lurching feeling in her stomach, and when Aisha opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of her teacher dragging a fresh corpse over to a corner of their training room.

.

"What do you think separates humans from animals?" He asked, as he slid the body across the floor with one hand.

"What?" Aisha asked, her mouth dry, eyes locked onto the priest girl's corpse.

"Will."

]

.

.

.

As Aisha recanted her memories about the man, Feng's expression grew guiltier and guiltier, until eventually, when Aisha finished, she just hung her head slightly, eyes joining Aisha's in their quest to count the blades of grass.

"Oh." She said quietly.

"What was he like when you knew him?" Aisha asked half-heartedly.

.

Feng sighed, and her eyes glazed over, looking at something that was no longer there.

.

"He was… Not everybody liked him, but for the people that did, he was always their favorite." She said quietly. "He was funny, charismatic, and smart… Everybody was always trying to get his attention. But they never got it, because… because his attention was always on me…. Always supporting me. Always behind me, always following me, trying to get me to… let go. And then…"

.

"Doesn't sound like the man I knew." Aisha said bitterly, and then suddenly winced, wondering if she had crossed a line. But after a short glance, she was relieved to see that Feng was still staring off into space, a saddened look on her face.

.

"I know." Feng whispered. "I destroyed everything he loved. And then… again… I betrayed him. After all those years of trying to help me, and I repaid him by stabbing him in the back."

.

Despite everything the two siblings had put her through, Aisha couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Feng. It was the look of someone who didn't realize that they loved someone… until they had well and truly lost them. It made her want to reach out and put a hand on the massive woman's shoulder. So, she did.

.

"Ah…" Feng sighed, letting out a deep breath. "I can't believe that I'm actually talking to you. Ah, no…"

"Hm?"

"You know, you're the closest I've had to a friend since Sen." Feng mumbled.

"...I'm not your friend." Aisha said quietly.

"I never said I was." Feng sighed.

"..."

.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Feng said quietly, unusually soft. The girl's eyebrows raised in response, shocked that the imposing reaper, always so scathing, would apologize, for anything.

.

"Huh!?"

"I'm sorry for the issues I have caused you." Feng said wistfully. "Sen always told me that I shouldn't push people away. That I should be nicer. So I'm sorry."

"You're not very good at this."

"I'm not." Feng agreed. "Like I said… Sen was my only friend. And I didn't… return his kindness. But he died, trying to teach me this lesson… so I would…"

.

Feng looked downwards bitterly. "It's the least I could do for him. The least I could do is not destroy the only thing left he cared about."

"Funny word to use." Aisha mumbled.

"He spent the last of his time on you." Feng shot. "Even if he didn't show it, he cared about your growth. Logically. Look at you. You turned out fine."

"Have I?" Aisha asked bitterly.

.

Feng's eyes softened a bit, and the tall woman put a hand on Aisha's shoulder, her hand heavy, despite the inside of her body being completely hollow.

.

"I'm sorry." Feng apologized, genuinely this time. "It's partly my fault that you went through such a thing. I'll make it up to you."

"Make it up to me how?" Aisha asked, curious.

.

"I'll answer a question for you." Feng shrugged. "Or teach you something."

"A single question, for a year of torture?" Aisha frowned. "Doesn't seem like a fair trade."

.

"Only if you ask me a bad question."

.

Feng looked into Aisha's eyes, her own brimming with millions of years of collective knowledge, swirling around in an inescapable, man-made prison. Aisha felt chills go down her spine. This woman knew the secrets of magic, the secrets of humanity - even perhaps… the secrets of the universe. Knowledge was power, and Aisha sensed that Feng knew this - she was right, a single question... for a galaxy's worth of knowledge, a year of torture seemed like nothing.

.

She had to ask a good question.

.

Aisha pondered for a bit, relaxing her legs and leaning her face on her palms, squishing her own cheeks. She thought hard, conversing with the shadow in her mind, as Feng waited patiently, form cutting through the natural breeze unnaturally.

.

"How do I slay god?" She whispered.

.

Feng raised an eyebrow. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"How do I kill him?" Aisha repeated unhelpfully.

"I don't know who you're talking about." Feng said, leaning back lazily. "You have to understand, the word "god" is just a title people place on each other."

"The one in the capital!" Aisha huffed in frustration.

.

"Oh. That guy." Feng pursed her lips. "Well, the same way you would kill anyone else."

"Huh!?"

"Cut his head off." Feng shrugged. "Pierce his heart. However you would kill a regular person - he is just a regular person."

"What?" Aisha's mouth was dry. "But he… he's worshiped, and… stuff."

.

"Well, I guess that's one difference." Feng rolled her eyes. "Hm. I suppose I haven't been very helpful. So I'll give you a hint. Just think about this - is he worshiped because he is powerful, or powerful because he's worshiped?"

.

Feng scrunched up her face, sucking on her tongue in a displeased fashion and shaking her head.

"Ah, that's a terrible hint, I basically just told you the answer. Wherever, kid, it doesn't matter anyways, it's pretty obvious."

.

Aisha didn't answer, the thoughts rushing through her head, as she conversed rapidly with her shadow. Ifrit wasn't a god? He was just a human? Or did gods not actually exist? Were they all just beings created from worship? Or was-

.

Aisha turned to ask Feng more questions, but the woman was already gone, leaving behind nothing but a slight discoloration in the air, a cloud of mist. Aisha coughed, biting her lip. She had, for once, wanted to talk to one of the tall, imposing, black-clad siblings. She wanted answers, especially when she seemed so close to… victory.

.

.

.

"What do you know about gods?" Aisha asked Gabi as she picked up a black pawn, pushing it forwards two spaces.

"You wanna join heaven?" The tall woman responded half-heartedly, musing to herself as she held a bishop, but didn't move it.

.

Aisha crossed her arms, leaning back. "No, I just want to know about them. You've met one in person, right?"

"What do you want to know about Minerva?" Gabi asked, sticking out her tongue as she tentatively slid a knight forwards.

.

"What's she like?" Aisha responded, instantly sliding another pawn across the board.

.

"Fuck." Gabi muttered under her breath. "Er, I don't know. She's sexy. Likes her women light-skinned, but she isn't averse to tanner women. Doesn't like boys, unless they have long hair and wear skirts… and are cute."

"What about what she does?" Aisha asked in frustration. "What does she do all day?"

.

"Just… have sex, I guess." Gabi shrugged, scratching her head. "She just… calls people into the main chamber, and then they have sex, and then she naps… She lets people play with her body while she sleeps, and…"

.

"That's all she does?" Aisha frowned. "Fuck and sleep?"

"Err…" Gabi scratched her head, hesitating before taking one of Aisha's pieces. "As she puts it… what else is there to do, really?"

"A lot of things." Aisha said flatly, as she stared intensely at the chess board for a second, before taking a piece herself. "An infinite amount of things."

.

"I mean…" Gabi sighed. "When you live for a long time… I think a lot of things would just lose meaning, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe." Aisha said flatly. "For a human… hm… maybe…"

"You're right." Gabi crossed her arms over her own ample bosom. "Who are we to question the motivation of gods? She is the god of sex, after all."

.

"Yeah..." Aisha narrowed her eyes. "It looks like we're in stalemate."

.

Gabi nodded.

"Wanna play another?" She asked.

"I thought you had a job to do here."

"Minerva doesn't really get all hung up if we don't bring girls back."

.

"Mmh." Aisha mumbled. "Well, I do have to buy a new weapon."

"That sounds good." Gabi grunted, stowing away the chess pieces into a box as she rose from her seat, stretching out her back. "Raffy!"

.

Raffy looked up to Gabi from her seat on the floor, the demon sitting on a little pillow while hugging the taller woman's legs.

"Are we going?" She asked innocently.

.

Gabi patted the girl on the head. "Yeah."

.

.

.

"How'd you lose your sword, anyway?" Raffy asked, smiling gleefully as she held Gabi's hand in her own. "Did ya misplace it?"

"Raffy…" Gabi scolded. "That's rude. A sapphire adventurer wouldn't just misplace her sword."

"I mean, I did." Aisha mumbled.

.

"Huhh!?" Gabi exclaimed. "You literally lost it?"

.

"It was just a regular sword." Aisha mumbled, as Raffy snickered from beside her.

"A regular sword?" Gabi mumbled unsurely. "Really? What material?"

"Some steel alloy."

Gabi tutted. "Might as well just use your bare hands. That's the kind of stuff they give to foot soldiers for last-resort defense!"

"Well, that's all I could find." Aisha mumbled defensively.

.

"You're not just going to find a great weapon at some shop." Gabi smiled. "You've got to go out of your way to find it!"

"Just like a woman." Gabi cooed, rubbing Raffy's cheeks in her hands, a gesture that the shorter girl smiled gleefully at. "You have to look for her. And then work to make sure that she's a keeper."

"Ok, well," Aisha gestured to herself. "I'm currently out of a weapon."

"Just use a conjured weapon." Gabi suggested. "I left my spear back in heaven, so that's what I'm doing."

.

Gabi held out an outstretched palm, and a blue blob of energy appeared in her palm, before lengthening and tapering quickly, taking the shape of a simple blue spear, slightly translucent and flickering with energy. Gabi spun it around a few times, almost hitting someone on the street, and with a sheepish look, quickly threw it off into the distance, the spear losing shape and quickly dissipating into the air.

.

"Sorry." She apologized quickly, before turning back to Aisha, cheeks slightly red with embarrassment. "Anyway, should be easy."

"Mmmmmm… I don't know how to do that."

.

"Ah, I can teach you!" Gabi smiled widely. "Besides, um… Raffy doesn't like… pokey things."

.

Raffy squeezed Gabi's hand tighter.

.

Aisha shrugged. "Uh, sure, why not."

.

.

.

"Ah, you're not very good at this, are you?"

.

"I'm trying!" Aisha squealed in response.

.

Gabi's eyes followed the blob of purple energy in Aisha's hand, as it literally vanished, wisps floating up into the atmosphere.

"Uhh…"

.

Raffy giggled from beside her.

.

"Why don't we start with the basics?" Gabi suggested. "Just make a ball in your hand."

.

Aisha nodded, and with a strained expression on her face, held out her palm, facing upwards. A wild, crackling mass of mana appeared in her hand, but one would be extremely hard pressed to call it anything close to a sphere.

.

"Ah, you're hopeless, aren't you." Gabi cracked a small smile. "So full of power! But no control."

Aisha shuffled around shyly. "Well, I…"

.

"It's okay." Gabi said softly, circling around Aisha and hugging the girl from the back, sliding her arm underneath Aisha's smaller one. Aisha's body heat up from the close contact, and her hand began to tingle, as Gabi started to cast her magic, using Aisha's hand as a conduit.

.

Aisha started to giggle, as the tingling started to become ticklish, a faint buzzing on her palm, making her fingers twitch. Gabi frowned, but nonetheless, continued her spell, a blob forming in Aisha's palm, but quickly stopped when Aisha's hand started to shake, the girl trying vainly to stop herself from giggling and jerking.

.

It didn't work, and with a poof, she fell backwards onto Gabi's soft chest, rubbing her palm ticklishly. Aisha tried to get up, but soon another weight settled on top of herself, and her eyes rolled up into the back of her head as four hands assaulted her poor, sensitive ears, sending soothing shockwaves down her spine, making her feel sleepy.

.

.

.

Aisha frowned as she conjured up a ball in her hand again, as the merchant finished up his preparations for his caravan of wagons. She had made a bit of progress, able now to condense her magic slightly denser, but still…

.

Her cheeks flushed as she recalled the hours she had spent on that grassy field, just mewing and moaning with her tongue out, like a good little kitten…

.

Aryn waved at her as the caravan started to move, and Aisha rolled her eyes, her exasperation magnifying as Morgan glared at her, his cross glimmering in the sunlight.

.

Clearly her talk with him had done nothing to dampen his religious dogma, although he did seem more confident. Aryn seemed to like it - the elf was all over his friend, hugging him from the back, whispering things into his ears…

.

Aisha shook her head. God, she wished people would stop with the public affection, it was… distracting.

.

(What a hypocrite!) A voice chided from inside her head. (This coming from one half of the most disgusting couple on the planet?)

.

(Oh, shut up…) She thought back, but her lips couldn't help but curl up into a smile, thinking about all the cute girls she had met on the trip, about the amazing cuddles… About mistress...

.

It made it more difficult to leave, especially when what she had to look forward to was babysitting some idiot and his two growth-stunted buddies.

.

Aisha's mask fogged up as she let out a big sigh, dragging her feet along the ground as the caravan started to move, wheels creaking as they slowly made their way back to the capital.

.

.

.

"Hey, so what's with the bet you made with Kayle?" Aryn asked, walking up to Aisha and grimacing at the log she was sitting on, matted with dirt and leaves. "You're really willing to quit adventuring?"

"No." Aisha said simply, furrowing her brows as a solid sphere appeared in her palm, dense-looking with powerful magic.

.

"Uh, so why'd you make that bet?"

"Cause I'm going to win." Aisha sighed.

"Kayle's smarter than he looks." Aryn pursed his lips. "He's… really smart, actually. I heard it runs in the family."

"Mhm." Aisha mumbled half-heartedly. "Cool."

.

"...You're not planning on just… ignoring the bet, are you? I mean, there was no paper agreement, but…"

"That's an option, I suppose." Aisha shrugged. "But I won't have to."

"How are you so confident that he'll have to kill?" Aryn asked curiously. "He's just taking super safe contracts. There's no way."

.

"Well, here's the thing…" Aisha said lazily, poking at the fire. "People travel this path, because it's safe… but then, everyone does, and it becomes harder to sell, because everybody's selling here. So what do you think humes do?"

"Move paths?" Aryn suggested.

"No." Aisha smiled eerily. "Humes aren't like that. People aren't like that. They like to… smash their heads into walls, and if the wall doesn't give, they smash harder."

.

Aryn frowned, looking at Aisha with a concerned look.

"What are you trying to say?"

.

"The reward for this contract is quite generous for a safe contract, don't you think?"

.

.

.

The forest grew quiet, as the moon rose high into the night sky. Aisha watched it absentmindedly, as she conversed idly with her little friend inside of her head. Her fire had long gone out, it had been for hours, and for hours she had just been stargazing, counting the little twinkling lights.

.

It wasn't all bad. Being alone wasn't so bad anymore. After all, she never really was truly alone.

.

(What do you think about the moon?) Aisha asked.

.

(Why do you ask?) Her shadow replied. (It's beautiful, isn't it?)

.

(I thought so, maybe the first time. But it got old fast.)

.

(But look at it. Doesn't it look… so serene? So bright!)

.

(I just see a big white rock.)

.

There was a pause in her thoughts, and Aisha could feel her shadow thinking, the presence in her mind going calm. The wind around them grew fainter, and Aisha closed her eyes, yawning and stretching her arms out, body insulated from the cold air by many layers of clothing. Eventually, after a long pause, her shadow spoke again.

.

(...Can you keep looking at it?) The demon asked quietly.

.

"Sorry." Aisha spoke out loud, but no sound exit her mouth. In fact, not even the grass rustling, or her boots crunching leaves underfoot, made even a whisper of a sound. Power flowed through her body, as she took a deep breath, lazy eyes locking on to the shadowy figures that slowly closed in on the line of covered wagons, and sleeping party members.

"Next time, I promise."